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A Christmas Story Live! Finds Its Ralphie Parker in Newcomer Andy Walken

October 11th, 2017 | By Andy Lefkowitz

Following a nationwide digital casting call, Andy Walken, an 11-year-old from Seattle, WA, has been cast in the central role of Ralphie Parker in the upcoming live TV presentation of A Christmas Story! The musical event will air on December 17 at 7:00pm EST on Fox.

More than 350 applicants were considered for the role of Ralphie, the boy whose only dream is to get a Red Ryder Range Model Carbine Action BB Gun for Christmas. Walken joins previously announced cast members Emmy Award nominee Maya Rudolph, who will star as Ralphie's mom, and two-time Tony winner Matthew Broderick, who will star as the narrator.

A Christmas Story Live! is inspired by the holiday classic feature A Christmas Story and the Tony-nominated show A Christmas Story: The Musical. The TV adaptation will be filmed at the historic Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA.

Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary are penning the script for the adaptation that features the Tony-nommed score by Dear Evan Hansen songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul along with new songs penned by the pair. Scott Ellis will serve as the director for A Christmas Story: Live! with Alex Rudzinski as the live television director.